Job Search Advice - How to Write an Effective Cover Letter

All job seekers should not only know how to write a good resume, they should also be aware that with most jobs a cover letter is going to be needed as well. So it is important that when you are doing your job search that you should have yourself a good cover letter that is going to be effective.

Whenever you begin your cover letter, you should never start it off with the salutation of “To Whom it May Concern”. Nor should you start it off with “Dear Sir or Dear Mrs/Ms”. If when you found the employment ad and it did not include who the contact person is, you should always call the Human Resources department of the company that placed the ad. If they can't give you the name of the supervisor or manager in particular, at least ask if you can have the name of the HR's supervisor so that you can at least address it to them.

Never let that cover letter go before you proof read it first. Make sure that your spelling, your grammar and all of your facts are one hundred percent right. So make sure that you make a habit of utilizing the spell check and grammar check of your word program, this is what they are there for. If you don't feel you are good at proof reading then make sure you find someone who is so they can do this for you.

Before even starting your cover letter you need to analyze the job it is that you are applying for. Make sure that you check to see if there are special needs notated in the ad and if there are needs that you can assume they are needing filled. Then this will help you decide which of your skills are the most important to the employer. This will then help you mention how your skills will meet the needs of the employer.

When you begin your cover letter it is vital that your opening statement is extremely strong. Whatever you do don't start off with something like “I would like to apply for your position of.....which I saw posted in....” For example should the job be for a manager of the sales department you might want to have a statement that expresses that you have a good or proven track record in developing new business or for increasing sales. This opening statement has to make the employer who is reading this to want to continue reading. That first statement needs to immediately address their needs.

Once you get to the body of the letter you will need to explain to the employer that you will be able to meet all of their particular needs. Make sure to make use of the ad that you saw and include the needs expressed within that advertisement.

You should also make the letter pleasing to the eye and it needs to match the style of your resume. You don't want to overdo it and your font type should match exactly to the same type of font that you used when you compiled your resume.

You need to be as precise as possible in explaining who you are, but at the same time you are not writing your life story here. All cover letters should be kept to one page and one page only.